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The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

Senior Duncan Sego held a sign reading "The Terror Must be Stopped" during a student walkout protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement in front of Palo Alto High School today at noon. According to Sego, people need to take a stand against ICE. "This [ICE] isn’t what the people want, this isn’t what we want and it’s destroying communities," Sego said. "People need to rally against them."
Watch the walkout: Palo Alto students say ‘Melt the ICE’
Juni Thurston and Joy Tan January 30, 2026

Editors' Note: The Paly Voice has updated the story to clarify minor details. Students from across the country are uniting in a wave of...

Students make protest signs at the Quad at Palo Alto High School during Thursday’s lunch in preparation for a Friday walkout to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. According to participant and sign-maker Maya Cheng, the walkout is a great opportunity for students to speak up. “It's really cool to see how a bunch of people are coming together to really use their voice,” Cheng said.
Administration prepares for student walkout
Lise Concolato and Juni Thurston January 29, 2026

The Palo Alto High School administration is preparing for a student walkout at noon on Friday in protest of actions taken nationally by the...

Physical education teacher Chris Russell  shoots a free-throw in the annual seniors-versus-staff basketball game at the Winter Rally today in the Peery Center. According to Russell, the  goal of the game was to create a more unified Paly community. “The game brings a lot of good chemistry within both the staff and students," Russell said. "It makes good student-teacher relationships.”
Staff defeat seniors at Winter Rally; Prom location revealed
Navya Narayanan and Diego Hakeman January 28, 2026

Staff beat the seniors, 25-11, in the annual Palo Alto High School seniors-versus-staff basketball game at the Winter Rally during lunch today...

In a hallway of San Francisco's Superior Court Building, attorneys on both sides of Gustafson vs. San Francisco Unified School District clarified scheduling concerns following a December court hearing regarding the employment status of Lowell High School journalism adviser Eric Gustafson. According to Gustafson, the outcome of this case highlighted a crucial part of student journalism. "This case clarifies the independence and the rights that students have and that, to me, is the most satisfying part of this," Gustafson said.
Student press rights survive test in SF court
Ava Knapp, Editor-In-Chief • January 27, 2026

Student press rights came under scrutiny — and appeared to have emerged intact yesterday — after a half year legal battle in San Francisco...

A student walks past the clock after the final bell of the school day. According to Palo Alto High School Librarian Sima Thomas, many Paly staff and faculty feel that the current schedule pushes school too late into the day. “There has been discontent starting at 9:00 and ending at 4:10,” Thomas said. “It’s just late for teachers who have families and also for students who have sports.”
District looks to change high school start time
Priya Tamura and Juni Thurston January 26, 2026

The Palo Alto Educators Association and Palo Alto Unified School District are considering moving the high school start time from 9 a.m. to 8:45...

Football head coach Edward Tonga poses inside the athletic director’s office today at Palo Alto High School after being named the program’s new head coach. According to Tonga, balancing athletes’ responsibilities beyond athletics limited preparation, making great involvement ahead of competition an important factor in improving results. “At the time [football season], a lot of the players were involved in other sports, involved in school and also work,” Tonga said. “On top of that, it’s time management. This year, if I am able to do a lot with them during the off-season and be more present, it will definitely help shape the football season.”
New coach takes over football program
Navya Narayanan and Oscar Varodayan January 16, 2026

Viking footballers are looking forward to their upcoming season after the Palo Alto High School administration named linebacker assistant coach...

Palo Alto High School students walk to their next class by moving around the portables by the Palo Alto High School quad. According to Jerry Berkson, assistant principal, he is already coming up with solutions for where services currently available in the portables will move to.  “I know there’s an open classroom in the 400s off the bat.” Berkson said. “We’ll probably have to go back to teachers sharing rooms in certain places.”
District to remove campus portables over summer
Ava Knapp, Editor-In-Chief • December 17, 2025

Palo Alto High School will remove the portables near the quad over summer and replace them with landscaping. According to Assistant Principal...

Palo Alto High School teacher Daniel Nguyen speaks on Friday in front of his AP Statistics class. Nguyen said the new Multivariable Calculus course he is proposing is facing significant administrative pushback. “There has been a lot of pressure [from administrators] to basically stop the course [MVC] from being approved by the board and offered,” Nguyen said.
Preview: Board to vote on adoption of new math courses
Priya Tamura and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki December 15, 2025

Just one week after the Palo Alto High School administration committed not to offer a new college-level math class as a standard high school...

Tone
Palo Alto High School Viking senior Jake Wang goes up for a layup in the third quarter of the match against Gunn High School Titans Saturday night at Gunn. According to Wang, this game means a lot to him. “So many great players have played in this rivalry,” Wang said. “Seeing all my friends and family and people in our community in the stands, it makes me want to play a lot harder and get the win for our school and for all my teammates."
Vikings defeat Titans in rivalry game
Andrew Zhao, Managing Editor, Sports • January 13, 2026
Freshman Akina Ogawa prepares to hit a forehand at the Palo Alto High School tennis courts. According to Ogawa, playing on the Paly tennis team gave her a whole new perspective. “Tennis is an individual sport, and I've never played on a team either, but the atmosphere is just really different,” Ogawa said. “It's really fun to cheer on my other teammates and also see that my teammates are rooting for me.”
Freshman phenom sets new standard for girls tennis
Alex Chang and Andrew Zhao December 15, 2025
Viking senior Finnegan Schoebel shoots through two defenders in a draw against the Pioneer Mustangs Friday night at home. According to Lodino, the team will improve as they build camaraderie and chemistry with one another. 

“We had a long talk after the game about how well they [the players] know each other, and what they know about each other,” Lodino said. “It's a new group. Now that our next game isn’t until Jan. 3 we can use the break to build trust and feel more comfortable.”
Boys’ soccer ties Mustangs in preseason match
Kevin O'Brien and Mack Reller December 15, 2025
Lilli Ichikoin (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki) reminisces about her time in London while she paints the landscape. In Netflix's "Love Through a Prism".
‘Love Through a Prism’ refines the coming-of-age tale
Joy Tan, Managing Editor, Director of Visual Operations & Business • January 30, 2026

Spoiler Warning: Minor plot details are discussed below. In the world of coming-of-age stories, few things hit as hard as chasing a dream...

From the left, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) in "Zootopia 2."
“Zootopia 2”: More fun and chaos in the animal world
Andrew Zhao, Kevin O'Brien, and Julia Curtis December 8, 2025

From betrayal to troubled relationships, "Zootopia 2"crams it all into another joke-filled, fast-paced thrill ride. As the sequel to Disney's...

The next batch of Jasmine Green Tea Cakes is ready at Topi Cakes, a new dessert shop centered around East Asian-inspired flavors in Palo Alto. Co-owner Tiffany Xing said she aims to expand the shop in the future and also have hopes of opening more stores across the Bay Area. “We definitely want to host some events and catering to attract more customers,” Xing said. “In the future, if we can really make this business model successful and make all the procedures clear and easy to copy, we may open other stores in the bay area or even other cities.”
Review: Topi Cakes brings culture in every crumb
Veronica Qiu and Amily Zhang December 12, 2025

From taro mochi cake boxes to pistachio cream cheese scones to customized cake designs, Topi Cakes' soft launch in October brings a selection...

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) quarrel after Glinda gives Nessa's ruby slippers to Dorothy, sparking Elphaba's furious reaction in "Wicked: For Good."
Does ‘Wicked: For Good’ change audiences for the better?
Cailey Quita and Julia Curtis December 2, 2025

After a year of anticipation following the cliffhanger ending of the first "Wicked" film, "Wicked: For Good" finally premiered in theaters over...

Palo Alto High School's color-coordinated a capella group, The Heartbeats, performs a rendition of a  medley from the iconic movie series, Pitch Perfect. They, with three other Paly groups, worked with the movie's arranger — Deke Sharon, on Thursday. Heartbeats senior Simone Batra thought the experience helped her grow musically. "When we worked with Deke, he taught us how to blend so many different aspects of music into one," Batra said.
Pitch Perfect at Paly: Deke Sharon a cappella masterclass
Julia Curtis, Reporter • October 13, 2025

Stage lights blinding, microphone in hand, anxiously trying to remember the choreography, we sang each chord as precisely as possible to impress...

Customers are served hot pot in Tasty Pot's modern, spacious interior. According to Manager Suang, the efficiency in their kitchen makes it good choice for people who come in and have a limited time to eat. “Some people are at school, or at work, and they come over during lunchtime; they only have a limited time, and we can make it very fast for them," Suang said.
Review: Tasty Pot spices up the block
Naomi Espinoza and Lise Concolato September 22, 2025

Featuring steaming soup, spicy kimchi and fried tempura, Tasty Pot, a new Taiwanese restaurant, brings specialty hot pot to downtown Palo Alto,...